It’s time for round two of the four star reading round up! I didn’t finish nearly as many books in February as I did in January, but here’s a quick rundown of all of my four star favorites.
1. Starfish by Akemi Dawn Bowman
My review
Four reasons to love it:
1. The main character, Kiko, is an artist, and each chapter ends with a quick description of what she draws or paints that day. Plus, her art provides such an intimate mirror for her emotional state throughout the story.
2. Kiko’s overlapping journeys of discovery, from discovering the Japanese side of her heritage, to discovering her own self-worth, to discovering a few big secrets that reshape her understanding of her family.
3. Kiko’s developing relationship with her childhood friend Jamie, and how supportive he is of her when she’s at her most anxious, and how determined she is to learn to stand on her own in spite of his support.
4. Hiroshi, a badass Japanese painter who winds up mentoring Kiko, and his awesome family, who are sweet and loving and supportive, and everything Kiko’s family is not. I wanted them to adopt me by the end of the book, and Hiroshi in particular made me so happy every time he showed up on the page.
2. Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly
My review
Four reasons to love it:
1. The personal details about each of these women that highlight their awesomeness without focusing exclusively on their contributions to the space program. I had no idea, for example, that Katherine Johnson spoke fluent French, or that Mary Jackson helped her son build the winning car in the first integrated derby car races in Hampton, VA.
2. If you’re a fan of the space program, this book includes a comprehensive history from the aeronautics innovation that occurred during WWII up through the moon landing.
3. I had no idea how diverse NACA and NASA were for their time, and I loved the little details regarding how its black employees actively worked to dismantle workplace segregation and its accompanying prejudices.
4. The fact that the author is a woman of color who grew up in Hampton, VA, where Langely was located, and that she interviewed many of the women who feature so prominently in her book in-person.
3. The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden
My review
Four reasons to love it:
1. The incredibly atmospheric setting and writing. If you want a book that will make you feel winter’s chill while you’re snuggled up on your couch or in your bed, you won’t be disappointed.
2. Vasya was such a compelling main character. She befriends the cheryti, or fairies, who live in and around her father’s estate, learns to ride horses by communicating directly with them, and retains her strong morals and her protectiveness toward her family even when her family doesn’t do an especially good job protecting her. She’s tough and fierce and I was fascinated by her.
3. Her family are pretty great, despite some of the choices they make. My particular favorites were Vasya’s brother Alyosha, who’s closest to Vasya in age and shares in some of her mischief, and Pytor, her father who is stern and stoic and loves his kids so much even when they frustrate him, and who gave me all the feelings all the time.
4. The story gets off to a slow start, but the fast-paced, epic ending more than makes up for it. I sped through the last seventy pages or so with my heart in my throat.
Have you read any of these books, and if so, what did you think? What four or five star books would you recommend?